00:00I'm Helen Phillips. I'm also known as your best life celebrant. I am a humanist celebrant based
00:06here in Leeds in Yorkshire and today we're being hosted by the beautiful Beaucliffe Hall which is
00:13a fantastic wedding venue. My first introduction to humanist ceremonies was actually through
00:18humanist funerals and I went to a few of those for family members and I just remember how I felt
00:26through those ceremonies and how connected I felt. I always thought at that point what a wonderful job
00:32to be a part of such an important milestone moment. During the Covid pandemic I took the opportunity
00:39to retrain and I decided to embrace the opportunity to become a celebrant. Every couple is completely
00:48different and the love between them is completely different and that's one of the best things about
00:52the job because no two ceremonies are ever going to be the same. Some couples want to do some things
00:58really fun and quirky. I've had owl ring bearers. I've had rings being set on fire but I've also had
01:08you know lots of romantic very sincere very heartfelt moments. An exchange of personal vows can be
01:14incredibly um a vulnerable and really heartfelt moment. So you kind of get to see it all and
01:21sometimes within one ceremony. I've been a practising celebrant for five years now and this
01:28was the first time that I decided to put myself forward for the awards. I actually received a
01:34nomination from one of my couples which to be honest was what gave me the push. I probably wouldn't have
01:39done it off my own back. I found out that I'd won the regional award at the regional event which
01:45I
01:45went to. That was actually in the northeast because it's um it's the awards for the whole of Yorkshire
01:50and the northeast and it was a fantastic event. So it as was the national event in in Liverpool.
01:59So the wedding industry awards or tour as um as they're known they pride themselves on being a celebration
02:08for people who spend their working life at other people's celebrations so they really know how to put
02:14on a good party. I always end my couple planning meetings with asking about what love is and it's a
02:22question you have to work up to okay you can't go straight in with it we have to warm up
02:26to a little
02:26bit and it's also it's impossible to answer but it's always interesting to hear couples perspectives on
02:33it. So sometimes I'll say how do you explain love if you met an alien in the street and how
02:38would you
02:38explain this crazy little thing called love you know how how can you articulate it and then it gives
02:43them a chance to explain what their their love looks like and and what it means to them. It's a
02:49very hard
02:50question to answer and it's a very personal one which is why it feels very appropriate to have a
02:55ceremony that reflects a couple's own personal perspectives.
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